


you carved your name into my heart

by interstellarbeams



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Inspired by Lady and the Tramp (1955), Kissing, Play Fighting, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Gestures, Vandalism, spaghetti dinners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26074996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interstellarbeams/pseuds/interstellarbeams
Summary: Kie wanted a special first date with her boyfriend, JJ, but a night at the Chateau wasn’t exactly what she had in mind.
Relationships: JJ & Kiara (Outer Banks), JJ Maybank/Kiara Carrera, JJ/Kiara (Outer Banks)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 38





	you carved your name into my heart

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the girls in the Jiara gc for their help with some of this, Lara for the prompt and K for looking it over. Love y’all! ☺️
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated! 💕 
> 
> Prompt thanks to [RoseofWinterfell](%E2%80%9C) — “Is this romantic enough for you?”

“JJ? Why are all the lights out? And why does it smell like garlic in here? Did you forget to pay the electric bill again? Because I set that reminder on your phone for a reason!” Kie allowed the door to slam closed behind her in order to investigate. 

JJ had told her to meet him here for a date and she had been so shocked she had almost asked him why he hadn’t invited John B and Pope, but that was a ridiculous question. 

She was the one who had been complaining about them having zero alone time without the other Pogues. Either they were always butting in or making the two feel guilty for wanting to spend some time alone. She wanted a real date, so sue her, but she had expected more than a trip to the Chateau where someone’s liberally stinky socks rottened under the pullout. 

“JJ?” Kie stepped further into the room, almost tripping over a stray pizza box that she couldn’t see on the floor — even the blinds had been closed against the late afternoon sunshine outside. 

“In here.” She heard his voice call, then the click of his lighter being ignited and the metallic sound of the lid closing.

“JJ? What’s going on?” Kie rounded the corner of the kitchen door and was astonished to see the table set for two, an overly large red candle sitting in the middle of the table, the wick lit and smoking. The acrid scent pervaded the air but the underlying smell of Italian food, that clearly wasn’t dirty socks, made her stomach rumble loudly.

“Babe, what’s going on?” She came to stand next to JJ, pressing a swift kiss to his cheek, then pulled back before he could get any ideas. She was here to go on a date with her boyfriend. Any other business would be handled afterwards. She had waited too long for this. 

“You said you wanted a date. So I uh— got you some pasta. And no complaints that I couldn’t get any vegetarian options. I didn’t have the money to pay for delivery from the mainland. So we’re stuck with plain old carb-y pasta from Tony’s.” 

“Oh, that’s okay.” Kie brushed a hand against the maxi skirt that Sarah had helped her pick out at one of the Kook approved boutiques that had popped up on Figure Eight over the last year, in an effort to dress nice for her date. Maybe it was the darkness that kept JJ from noticing her specially chosen outfit. 

A string of disappointment wrapped around her heart, tightening painfully and causing tears to prick at her eyes. She couldn’t help the feeling but she felt guilty when he had clearly gone through so much trouble to make their night special so she wrapped her arms around him and whispered a soft _thank you_. 

“It’s no big deal. The real challenge was getting John B and Pope to leave so I could have the place to myself. It was like trying to drag a bag of weed out of my cousin Cripple’s hands without paying first, but they finally left.”

“They better stay away, far away. Or I just might strangle one or both of them.”

“That I would like to see. Just don’t hurt them too badly. They help with the rent.” JJ chuckled before reaching down to grasp her hand and pulled her towards the table, where a foil package sat, steam escaping from the top of the noodles resting inside.

JJ pulled the chair out for her and she had to quickly school the surprised look that crossed her face. He had never been so well  
mannered before, besides helping her in and out of the Pogue on occasion. To be fair she had made many comments about how men treated women like they were invalids but she did appreciate his special attention.

JJ rounded the table and sat down himself, his chair legs squeaking on the linoleum as he shifted closer to the table.

In the light of the candle it was hard to tell what he had on but she could tell that he had cleaned up after his shift at the mechanics shop that morning. The metallic tang of the body shop and the smell of grease was absent, replaced by the scent of shower gel and body spray letting her know that he did care about their time together. Not that she doubted that he cared, but his reactions to her request for a date had always been a little lackluster. 

Her stomach growled again and she didn’t know what JJ was waiting on as he watched her over top of the flickering candle flame, the cinnamon scent of Christmas interspersed with garlic and basil.

“So, is this romantic enough for you?”

Kie had never thought of the Chateau as a romantic place. It had empty beer bottles collecting dust on the windowsills, picture frames on the walls in black and white of people who had died a century before and for some reason there were seashells on top of the dryer in the small laundry room but it was and had been home to the group of them. It probably felt like a safe space to JJ and she couldn’t begrudge him that. Besides, dating had never been a JJ thing, he had always been a ‘one night stand with strangers person’ until her. He was allowed to feel uncomfortable being anywhere else. The reckless Pogue on a date with the former Kook in public was bound to draw some raised eyebrows and she hadn’t wanted to watch her boyfriend get into a fight or cart him to the emergency room tonight, or any night. The Chateau was a smart choice. 

“I don’t know.” Kie pretended to think about it. Not missing out on the frown that wrinkled his eyebrows in disbelief. “It’s a little masculine for my tastes, what with the corn chip smell and the dirty dishes in the sink.”

“Hey, that’s not fair! I was gonna wash the dishes but we were out of dish soap and it was almost time for you to arrive. I didn’t have time to run to get some.”

“Oh? So that explains why we’re eating in the dark. You were trying to hide the mess.” 

“No.” JJ’s jaw clenched and she had to force herself to focus on what he was saying and not what that sight always did to her insides. “I saw it in a movie. Candlelight dinners are supposed to be romantic.” 

Kie decided she had teased him for too long and reached across the table to grasp his hand which had been fiddling with the fork next to his plate. 

“It is romantic and thoughtful. Thank you.” JJ smiled slightly before squeezing her fingers. 

“Now, can we eat cause my stomach is about to start eating itself?”

“I thought you would never ask.” Kie laughed, a happy exaltation that bubbled out of her, JJ’s face lighting up at the thought of the food, filling  
her up like champagne. She loved to see him happy and he hadn’t had very much happiness in his life. He deserved every moment.

“So, I got spaghetti cause it had tomatoes and all that good shit for you.”

“You mean lycopene?”

“You know, you’re starting to sound more and more like Pope. Have you been reading those medical journals he keeps emailing you the pdf’s of?”

“No, but I do read organic food blogs all the time. They’re very informative.” Kie replied, as she helped herself to spaghetti and meatballs. JJ would never mention the fact that she was a vegetarian if he caught her eating meat, he was loyal like that but he watched her every move across the table and she didn’t want to disappoint him by not going all in on the food he had brought to their dinner. 

“I also got garlic bread because garlic bread.”

“Solid reasoning.” Kie deadpanned, as she twirled pasta onto her fork and took a bite.

“Oh, wait! I forgot.” JJ jumped up from the table, almost knocking his chair over in his haste to get up. Kie had to hold in a snort as he fumbled to straighten it before walking over to the fridge and opening it.

The lightbulb inside the fridge shone in a patch on the floor and Kie got a quick glimpse of khakis before the light cut out and JJ’s footsteps crossed the floor. 

“Are you wearing khakis?” She asked, interrupting him before he could show her what he had brought to the table.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s a date, right? People dress up and all that.” 

“You’re right. I’m just surprised. Where did you get those?” She asked, disbelief filling her voice.

“I don’t know. I guess they were my dad’s.” JJ shrugged his shoulders, sitting down in his chair and setting a bottle of wine on the table. “I found them in the back of my bedroom closet and thought, ‘Why not try them out?’ and they fit so.”

Kie felt bad for quizzing him on his clothing choices but she had only wondered. She had never seen him in anything other than board shorts, cargo shorts and denim in the winter.

“Where did you get the wine? You didn’t pay for this did you?” Kie pulled the bottle closer so that she could read the label in the dark room.

“‘Course not. I snagged it from the liquor store on Fifth Street.”

“What? Why? You could have been caught. There are cameras everywhere in there.”

“So.” JJ leaned back casually, crossing his arms, but she could tell her judgemental questions were making him uncomfortable. “I’ve done it plenty of other times and haven’t gotten caught.”

Kie sighed. “Yeah, you didn’t get caught this time, but what about next time or the time after that. They’ll throw you straight in jail.”

“No, they won’t. I’m not a minor anymore. My juvenile record has been expunged.” 

“Still.” Kie shook her head but managed to hide the disappointment on her face by looking down at her plate.

“It’s fine, Kie. Come on. Besides, I know you’ve always wanted to try it but were too cheap to splurge on a bottle.”

“I’m not cheap! I’m saving up for my trip to Thailand.” She could feel her mouth hanging open wide and she snapped it closed before JJ could make some ridiculous comment about her trying to catch flies. 

“Potato, potato.”

Kiara decided not to correct him. The quote being from a movie that he had certainly never seen and reached for a piece of garlic bread instead.

“Where are the glasses?” Kie asked after she chewed her bite of buttery bread. 

“ _Man_ , I knew I forgot something.” 

JJ poured them very generous glasses once he had actually retrieved them and handed one over to her. Kie sniffed it like she had seen her mother do at wine tasting parties before taking a tiny sip. 

“Um. This is kind of gross.”

JJ made a face, screwing up his nose and lips. “Tastes like somebody pissed in vinegar.”

“Yeah. I’m not a fan.” She set her glass back down and took another bite of her garlic bread to get the taste out of her mouth. 

“Me either.” JJ added, but he took another sip and another one.

“I thought you didn’t like it.” 

“I don’t, but it’s alcohol and I had a long day.”

Kie rolled her eyes but kept her opinions to herself. 

“I’m guessing you aren’t going to kiss me  
later tonight?”

“What? Why wouldn’t I want to kiss you later? Or now, for that matter.”

Kie lifted her garlic bread and her eyebrows at the same time, asking a pretty sensible question without saying a word.

“I did _not_ think about that.” JJ groaned, throwing his head back dramatically.

“I’m surprised, really. Because usually you can’t keep your hands to yourself.”

“I was trying to be on my best behavior. You’re the one who’s always trying to smack my hands away and won’t even let me kiss you when the guys are around.”

“You would probably have sex in front of the guys if you thought you could get away with it.” Kie pointed her fork at him, surprised that he didn’t try to yank it out of her hand.

“True.” JJ’s smile turned to a smirk and she had the sudden urge to grab a piece of garlic bread and shove it into his mouth to shut him up. It would be satisfying, sure, but she didn’t want to ruin their night by attacking him with gluten. 

Kie kicked him in the shin under the table instead, pleased to see him jump as her foot connected with his leg, hard and painfully. 

“Hey! That’s not being on your best behavior.” JJ teased, the frown that she had expected turning into a mischievous grin. 

“Don’t you do it, JJ. I’m warning you.”

“Do what? I’m just sitting here.” JJ lifted his hands above the tablecloth so that she could see them clearly.

Kie narrowed her eyes at him, forgetting all about the food that still sat in front of her as she watched him, waiting for him to move an inch because she knew she would be in trouble then.

“I’m not doing anything.” JJ even opened his hands so that she could see there was nothing in them but she knew he was up to something. She just knew it. JJ wouldn’t be JJ if he didn’t try to spring something on her. To leave well enough alone was not in his repertoire. 

She had almost decided that he was telling the truth and was about to take another bite of her spaghetti when the legs on JJ’s chair squeaked across the linoleum floors and he jumped out of his chair.

“JJ!” Kie couldn’t see him in the darkness outside of the candlelight but he was suddenly next to her and she jumped when a wet finger found its way into her ear.

She dodged, trying to move away and smack his hand away at the same time but then his arms were wrapped around her lifting her to her feet.

“Eww! Gross. Why would you do that?” She yelled, ready to pummel him for giving her a wet willy but he wouldn’t let her go, his arms banded around her so that she could barely move. 

“Get off me!” She yelled, an angry heat burning the tips of her ears. 

“I can’t do that. Cause you’ll punch me and then where would we be. Plus, you started it by kicking me in the leg.”

“You asked for it! You were the one who—“

“Who did what? I didn’t do anything.” 

“Yes, you did! You agreed with me when I said that you would sleep with me in front of John B and Pope. I can’t believe you.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault I have such a sexy girlfriend. Still, it wasn’t very nice for you to kick me, so now we’re even.”

Kie wanted to cross her arms and fume, leaving him to apologize for putting her in a bad mood on their date but he was right. She had kind of insulted him. 

“Fine. We’re even. But if you ever give me a wet willy again, my dad will hear about what happened at last month’s Free Fish Supper Sunday.” 

“Kiara Carrera, you would resort to blackmailing your boyfriend.” JJ’s voice sounded shocked but she could hear the laughter behind his put upon act.

“Yes. Yes, I would.” Kie shifted, shrugging her shoulders, trying to dislodge him and he finally loosened his arms, but one still rested on her waist.

The closeness of his body and the rush of adrenaline suddenly turned and the mood changed. The anger that had coursed through her veins slowly melting into a more languorous feeling. Kie licked at her suddenly dry lips and let her eyes catch his in the flickering candlelight.

It seemed so ridiculous to her that anger could so suddenly turn to desire but there it was, the topic of multiple books, movies and tv shows coexisting in her own life.

The candle flame turned his hair to gold and she reached up a hand to brush his bangs back from his forehead. JJ’s hand moved lower, fingers tensing as he prepared to pull her closer. Kie had just allowed her eyes to drift closed as he leaned in when banging on the side of the house made them jump and JJ swore, moving as if to run for the door but Kie grabbed a hold of his arm.

“Leave them alone. They’ll get over bothering us eventually, then we can be alone.”

“I don’t want to be alone _eventually_. I want to be left alone right now so I can be with my _girlfriend_!” He practically yelled, but clearly the boys weren’t done bothering them when a serenade type song echoed through the window, a bright rectangle of light showing through the curtains.

“We can see your phone screen through the window, dumbass!” JJ yelled, the boy's laughter echoing through the flimsy wood of the outside wall near the screen door. 

“What the hell are they playing? And why does it sound like an accordion?” Kie scoffed at them interrupting, even if it was kind of sweet that they were playing a somewhat romantic song. 

“I don’t know. Sounds like some Italian. Do you know Italian?” JJ asked, peering at her with one eye closed as he listened. 

“No, I don’t know Italian. I took Spanish in high school. You were in that class too.” 

“Oh. I don’t remember that.”

“Not surprising. You fell asleep more often than not and I had to write your name at the top of your tests so that you didn’t lose five points for forgetting.”

“Aww. I didn’t know you cared so much back then.”

“Shut up. Besides that’s what friends are for.” Kie knocked her shoulder into his playfully. 

“So… do you want to get out of here? It does kind of stink in here, now that you mention it.”

“Sure.” Kie couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. He was being so thoughtful, genuine and simply being JJ, the boy she fell in love with, that she couldn’t be mad at his cheeky attitude.

“You can have the house,” JJ shouted, snatching up the half drunk bottle of wine in one hand, he grabbed Kie’s hand with the other. “We’re going outside.”

They ignored the sound of the boys juvenile singing of, ‘ _JJ and Kie sitting in a tree_ ,’ as they walked out the front door. The sounds of the music slowly faded away as they walked down the short dirt road out front and slipped through the trees to a strip of beach that the boys had discovered during high school. 

The moon above them shone down on the water at high tide and Kie heard the splash of fish catching their supper of mosquitoes as she and JJ removed their shoes. She had to hold onto JJ’s arm in order to unbuckle her sandals and he flexed his muscle, making her laugh at his macho display. 

“If you wanted to feel me up, Kie, all you had to do was ask.”

“Oh, I know. Sometimes I don’t have to ask, like now, you just do it.”

JJ laughed, sarcastically, but he linked their fingers together and dragged her down the beach, feet stumbling in the sand as she tried to catch up. 

“Slow down. What’s the rush?” She asked, scrabbling to grab a handful of her skirt so that she wouldn’t trip and rip the ruffled hem. It had been an expensive splurge and she didn’t want to mess it up. 

“I just wanted to show you something.” He shrugged, the salt water lapping at their ankles and soaking Kie’s trailing skirt as he pulled her back into the tree line.

“Here.” He stopped abruptly. Turning to her, he lifted a hand to touch her cheek and Kie was surprised to feel his fingers tremble against her skin.

“What’s the matter?” A sudden fear gripped Kie’s heart like a vice and she reached up to intertwine her fingers with his, steadying his hand and trying to gauge his mood by searching his face but the shadows under the trees hid him from view.

“Nothing. I just— I love you. That’s all. And I— I didn’t want our date to end in an argument.”

“What? Why would it end in an argument?” 

“Because, Icarvedourinitialsinatree.”

“What? I didn’t get that.” Kie huffed out a nervous laugh. 

“I carved our initials into a tree. I know you’re all about saving the planet. And against forest fires, pollution and deforestation but I wanted a permanent reminder of how I feel about you right now. So I’m sorry but I don’t regret my decision.”

“Where did you carve our initials? I don’t see anything.”

“Here.” JJ reached for her hand and lifted it towards the dark tree trunk. At first she didn’t feel anything but the rough oak bark but then newer, smoother curves of his carving felt different and he moved her fingers so that hers traced the KC and the JM and despite the warmth of the night she felt a small shiver race up her spine at the intimacy of them being in such close proximity in the darkness.

The soft puffs of their breath and the hooting of an owl against the backdrop of ocean waves made her feel like they were only two people around, though she knew the Chateau was less than a mile away. 

“When did you do this?” She breathed out, afraid to break the moment with loud talking. 

“The other day. I don’t know. I was messing around after work, waiting for JB to get back from Sarah’s so we could fish and I just felt the need to do it.”

“Why all of a sudden? I don’t—“ Kie didn’t want to hurt his feelings by underestimating his feelings for her, but she hadn’t known his feelings were quite this strong. Oak trees lived for hundreds of years — he couldn’t have chosen a more solid wood to carve and he had to know his trees, for oak was also known for its softness, otherwise he wouldn’t have known that he could carve it. 

He was constantly surprising her. It made life more interesting but also kept her on her toes. She wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“I— I know it doesn't exactly live up to my tree-hugging sensibilities but…” Kie felt tears sting her eyes for the second time that night but she couldn’t hold them in as they slowly dripped down her face. 

She moved to turn away, embarrassed to be caught crying over something so sappy. She was a girl, yes, but she was also tough and strong and she hated plunging into a simpering mess because of hormones or whatever the hell was working at her heartstrings right now. 

“Hey. What’s the matter?” JJ slipped an arm  
around her shoulders, wrapping her into a comforting hug and she practically collapsed into him.

“Nothing. Nothing. It’s just— I was so disappointed when I showed up at the Chateau cause it could never be romantic and then you didn’t notice my new outfit that I worked so hard on but now you’re showing me carvings of our initials in a tree. I couldn’t have asked for a more romantic date. And it’s perfect because it’s us and you did this all for me. I feel so horrible for doubting you, that’s all.”

“No worries, babe. Even I was a little worried that I would make a fool of myself trying to be romantic. I don’t have any experience with this kind of thing, ya know?”

“I know. But you made it so special. And I love you for it. Thank you, JJ, really.”

“You’re welcome, Kie. I— I don’t want to interrupt this moment but uh— so you’re not mad about the tree?”

“No. Never. You could have cleaned up the beaches of Mumbai, India with your bare hands and it couldn’t have made me happier than this.”

“That’s good. Because I was freaking out earlier but you know JB, he said it was fine. ‘Sweet’ was the word he used, actually. And Pope said it was something that had been done for generations even if it wasn’t really popular with environmentalists. So I was still a little nervous that you would hate it.”

Kie shook her head and leaned to kiss him on the cheek, drawing in the familiar scent of him and the saltwater that was a daily fixture in the Outer Banks. Two of her favorite scents and two of her favorite things. 

She made JJ promise that he would bring her back out here to their tree in the daylight so that she could actually see it and not just feel it before they walked back to the beach and sat down with the bottle of wine between them.

They took turns sipping out of the bottle, the taste of the wine getting better and better the more mouthfuls Kie took.

“It’s not that bad. Though it does make me thirsty.”

“Yeah. I don’t know.”

Kie reached over and wrapped her fingers around JJ’s hand, leaning her cheek against his firm shoulder just to be close to him. She played with his fingers as the stars blinked on, then traced his palm with a trailing finger, along the deep lines and blue-green veins, tracing the path of his bloodstream.

“What are you doing?” He finally asked, curling his fingers around hers so that hers were trapped.

“Tracing your lifeline and your veins.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s just something my mom always did when I was little. Especially when I couldn’t go to sleep.”

“Are you trying to knock me out now, Kiara? After I did so many nice things for you.”

“No! I mean, ‘no.’ I just wanted to touch you. That’s all.”

“That’s all. Okay. You think I don’t know what’s on your mind… is that it?”

“I want to have sex. Is that what you wanted me to say?” Kie teased, biting her lip and admiring the curve of his lips in the moonlight.

“I mean. I wouldn’t hate it if that’s how this ended but it is a first date, Kie. You wouldn’t want to be labeled as easy.”

“Yeah? Well, that’s all it would be, a label. Because Victorian ideals on sex and relationships are not at the top of my list and I know they aren’t on yours.”

“Well!” JJ gasped in a faux haughty voice and she laughed as she stood and struggled to pull him to his feet.

They moved to walk away when Kie remembered the empty bottle of wine. 

“You can’t leave that bottle out here.”

“Why not? Isn’t glass like a natural creation?”

“It’s recyclable but not compostable.” Kie explained when he looked confused, reaching to pick up the bottle and hand it to him. “Which means the natural elements like the sun and rain won’t break it down.” 

“Oh. Gotcha.”

They wandered up towards the Chateau before remembering that John B and Pope were back, probably hogging the pullout and playing video games, the obnoxious soundtrack blaring through the speaker system.

“Shit. I forgot. Can we go to your place?”

“Sure.” Kie shrugged, wrapping her arms around JJ where they stood in the middle of the driveway. 

“I’m gonna kiss you now.” Kie announced, popping up onto her toes to finally capture his lips with hers. 

They pulled back after a moment, their eyes locking as they both spoke at the same time.

“Garlic?”

“Garlic.” 

Kie smiled at JJ, the brightness of his teeth white in the moonlight as they stood close. 

“I don’t mind it.”

“Me either.”

“Should we just…?”

“Yes.” 

They kissed again, the first date a success. But Kie made JJ brush his teeth once they got back to her apartment. Elbowing each other, as they tried to share the sink and spitting at the same time so that they conked heads. The kiss after that was fresh and minty and the one after that well, let’s just say it was _romantic_.


End file.
